Sleep Stages & Sleep Deprivation - Chapter 5 Flashcards
The stages of Sleep
- Beta waves
- Alpha waves
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3-4
Beta Waves (Sleep Stages)
Awake
Alpha Waves (Sleep Stages)
Drowsy state; loss of attention
Stage 1 (Sleep Stages)
Breathing, heart rate, blood pressure decrease
- Theta waves
Stage 2 (Sleep Stages)
Become less responsive to external stimuli; sporadic brain activity
- Sleep spindles
Stages 3-4 (Sleep Stages)
Brain activity slows; difficult to wake
- Delta waves
REM Sleep (Sleep Stages)
Stage of sleep characterized by quickening brain waves, deep relaxation, inhibited body movement, and rapid eye movements (REM)
- Paradoxical sleep and REM rebound
Sleep over the lifespan
- There is no ‘magic number’ for sleep
- Amount of sleep needed varies between individuals
according to age and genetics - Sleep is developmentally important
Sleep and Learning
- REM facilitates learning, especially for complex tasks
- Late REM phases especially important for ‘locking in’ learning
- Slow-wave sleep (i.e., stages 3 and 4) particularly important for the learning of autobiographical memories
- Neural Replay:
- Fast-forward playback in which pattern of neural activity that occurred while awake is repeated during sleep
- Neural Replay:
Characteristics of Sleep Deprivation
- More readily falls asleep
- Irritability/emotional deficits
- Attention/vigilance deficits
- Normal energy as long as one is occupied; malaise sets in upon sitting down or resting
- Reading/studying next to impossible
- After 2-3 days microsleeps begin to occur
The Costs of Sleep Deprivation
- Cognitive and emotional deficits
- Increased risk of vehicular accidents
- Increased number of preventable medical errors
Sleep Displacement
- When an individual is prevented from sleeping at the normal time
- Jet lag
- Daylight savings time
Sleep Hygiene
Practicing good sleep hygiene trains your brain and body to sleep more readily
